The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

I've been on top of this series right from the moment it premiered. I looked forward to every single season and even set notifications to make sure I wouldn't forget to start watching again once a new season came out. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel did something that not many other series have ever done before, which is getting better and better with every new season! I don't even think I've seen a single episode that bored me. Not even a little! The character building, the actors, the settings, the outfits, the jokes, the storyline, all of it was absolute perfection.

I've told so many people about this series and it amazes me - but equally annoys me - that this series got so little media attention (at least where I'm from). It should've gotten at least as much attention as Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead. (Both of which actually DID have several to many episodes that bored the hell out of me, just saying. I didn't even finish The Walking Dead - I mean, who did?! - because at some point the series literally died and kept walking.)

I'm sure some people might not agree with me, but let's be honest; the rating doesn't lie. This series is an absolute and unique piece of art!

About the actors. Rachel Brosnahan did an amazing job as Midge Maisel... but the series wouldn't have been the same without Alex Borstein (Susy Myerson) and Tony Shalhoub (Abe Weissman)! These two take comedy to a whole new level and I love them for it!

After hearing so many great things about The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and seeing it win so many awards I thought I'd finally gave it a chance. I'm so glad I did because now I'm hooked. I'm actually mad at myself for putting it off for so many years. I'm just about to finish the second season so I still have 3 more seasons to go but so far so good. Every character on the show shines, there's not a weak link on the entire series. The show takes place in the 1950's and follows Miriam "Midge" Maisel as she follows her dream of becoming a stand up comic after her life gets turned upside down following a divorce. It has an incredible cast that includes Rachel Brosnahan, Tony Shalhoub, Alex Borstein, Michael Zegen, Kevin Pollak, Luke Kirby and Marin Hinkle. It also has some award winning special guest appearances that pop up here like Zachary Levi, Sterling K. Brown, Wanda Sykes and Jane Lynch. There's too many great actors to even name that have guest appearances. Like I said the show has won so many awards including numerous Emmy's for the show itself and almost every actor I just named has won for their work on the show. I can't wait to finish it now!

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is such a good show with plenty of talent but Tony Shalhoub is the best thing about this show. Everyone had already talked about how good the show is so I just want to talk about how great Tony Shalhoub is. In a series full of laughs he still manages to steal every scene he's in. I can't say enough about him. I've seen him in lots of movies and tv shows but the first time he really impressed me was when I saw him on the incredibly underrated show Monk. He won 3 Emmy's (every one of them deserved) for that role and was nominated all 8 seasons. For this he won an Emmy and was nominated for all 4 seasons so far and should get a 5th for this last season. That's 4 Emmy's and 12 nominations and he's still an underrated active.

This is a comedy about stand-up comedy, so it has to be pretty darn witty. And it is. But it's so much more.

The characters are incredibly likeable, particularly the lead who suffers sexism and setbacks with a plucky determination and a dream all her own. Those surrounding her are fascinating and unique, from her father (wonderfully played by Tony Shalhoub) to her manager and others, including a recurring version of Lenny Bruce, which is quite a gas.

The setting offers more flavour as we see, hear and smell late 50s Manhattan, particularly through the lens of an upper middle class Jewish-American family.

It's a show that is rich in personality and consistently so over 3 seasons. You'll be hooked by episode 2. Enjoy and, ahem, "tits up".

We've recently retired and are enjoying a lot of television time. The good news is there is a lot of TV available. The bad news is that it can't possibly all be good. At some point as you flick through the options, you can't help but laugh at the absurdity of some of these shows. I get the challenge to producers and artists to fill hundreds of channels, 24/7, I really do. I've learned to seriously adjust my expectations. But frankly, the ones that look promising and don't deliver are more disappointing than the ones that didn't look appetizing in the first place. You get what I'm saying, right?

All that said - don't be afraid to have high expectations of this show. Just make sure you listen closely to the dialog so you don't miss one delicious bit of hilarity which often occurs in simultaneous dialogue at a dramatic moment.

The acting is crisp, the caricatures of a rich New York Jewish family in the 50s are spot on. Rachel Brosnahan is intelligent, independent, strong and funny. Her energy paired with Alex Borstein's drollness leaves me clamoring to find out how this all plays out.

(PS - if you like it, I encourage you to take the time to fill out Amazon's survey which will help them decide whether to continue this series. I'd hate to see it go the way of their terrific series, Good Girls Revolt, which was discontinued after one season because it premiered in the thick of the 2016 election when its primary audience was otherwise occupied.)